- The passage from Acts 25 describes Paul's trial before Festus
- Festus refuses to transfer Paul to Jerusalem and instead orders him to stand trial in Caesarea
- Paul defends himself, stating he has done nothing wrong
- Festus eventually decides to send Paul to Rome to stand trial before the emperor
- The passage emphasizes the idea that God is working behind the scenes to accomplish his purpose for our lives, even in times of trial

- The passage discusses how God works behind the scenes during trials
- Paul is in danger and facing serious charges before the new governor Festus
- The Jews are plotting to have Paul condemned to death
- Paul is in danger because of the charges brought against him and also because there are still people plotting to kill him

- A group of Jews conspired to kill Paul and made an oath not to eat or drink until they had accomplished their goal
- They planned to ambush and kill Paul while he was being transferred to Jerusalem
- Paul proclaimed his innocence and appealed to Caesar for his trial
- God's promise for Paul to testify in Rome about Jesus was fulfilled as he stayed in Rome for 2 years without hindrance
- God protected Paul throughout his trials, using even sinful leaders to accomplish his will

- The speaker discusses how God works in the background, using even sinful leaders to accomplish his will
- Paul is facing trials and danger, but endures with courage, defending his innocence and appealing to Caesar
- The speaker encourages those facing difficulties while following God's will to persevere and continue to do good
- Suffering according to God's will can help us grow and see his faithfulness, while rebellion can lead to affliction

- The speaker became a Christian at 17 and was very zealous for his faith
- At 18, he fell into a sinful and sexual situation
- He felt shame, unworthiness, and confessed his sin to his sister and brother
- Years later, he found comfort in the words of the Lord and felt cleansed and restored
- He confessed his past sin to his future wife and encourages others to not run away from God in times of failure
- He prays for God's mercy and guidance for those who have failed and encourages them to continue walking in God's will

- Paul is facing trial before Festus and is in danger due to serious charges and plots against him
- Despite the trials, Paul proclaims his innocence and appeals to Caesar for his trial
- The passage emphasizes how God works behind the scenes during trials and uses even sinful leaders to accomplish his will
- The speaker encourages perseverance and continued obedience to God's will, despite difficulties and failures
- The speaker shares a personal story of failure, confession, and finding comfort and restoration in God's mercy and guidance

So from Acts 25, and I'll be reading the NIV.

3 days after Arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.

They requested Festus as a favor to them to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.

Festus answered, Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon.

Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.

After spending 8 or 10 days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea.

The next day, he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him.

When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him.

They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.

I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.

Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?

Paul answered, I am now standing before Caesar's court where I ought to be tried.

I have not done any wrong to the Jews as you yourself know very well.

If however I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die.

But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no 1 has the right to hand me over to them.

I appealed to Caesar, And after Festus had conferred with his council, he declared, you have appealed to Caesar.

A few days later, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.

Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul's case with the king.

He said, there is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner.

When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.

I told them that it's not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they've faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges.

When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in.

When his accusers got up to speak, they didn't charge him with any of the crimes I had expected.

Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus, whom Paul claimed was alive.

I was at a loss how to investigate such matters, so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges.

But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the emperor's decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.

Then Agrippa said to Festus, I would like to hear this man myself.

The next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city.

At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.

Festus said, King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man.

The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.

I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the emperor, I decided to send him to Rome.

But I have nothing definite to write to his majesty about him.

Therefore, I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation, I may have something to write.

For I think it's unreasonable to send a prisoner onto Rome without specifying the charges against him.

You have said in your Word that every Word that is written is good for our instruction.

So we pray that as we today listen to your word and even to the reflection that we made upon your word, that you would just speak to our heart, that you will help us to see you better today, that you will help us to see you in a glorious way, in a way that's helped us to trust you, help us to commit our lives to you, and help us to endure in your ways.

Thank you again for the promise that you have given, that you will teach us.

We praise your name for that and pray that Lord even now you will teach us by your spirit that you will calm every thought that is against you now that you will calm any idea that can draw us away from the meditation of your word.

We pray and ask you that in Jesus' name, amen.

So good morning again, brothers and sister.

If you haven't been here in RBC, we are continuing our series in the book of Act of Apostles.

And more clearly, we have been coming almost now for a year now in the book of Acts.

We've started by looking into Jesus Christ resurrected and how that impacted the life of the believers.

Then we continue looking to how that truth of his resurrection impacted even the preaching to of the gospel to the rest of the world.

And now in this last month, we've been very focusing on the part of Paul's life where we see Paul coming to Jerusalem and there being imprisoned.

So if you've been, let's say, to a movie and you arrive late or even you start to watch a series but you get to a series at a certain point of something happened in the story and you wonder what's going on, I'm kind of lost.

Let's say that you have started the second episode of the series and you don't really understand how what is happening fits with all the rest of the story or even what the author or the creator of the story had in mind.

So basically this is almost the same way that I personally felt when I came to that passage, Act 25.

You see we've been in the in most of the book we've been looking into what God was doing, seeing miracles and God doing many big things.

And as you read, there is no match of God appearing in the passage.

It just seems to be events that the author is telling us.

So 1 might be wondering what's the goal of this passage?

What is Act 25 really has to do with everything that is happening in the life of Paul.

We've seen last Sunday that in Acts chapter 24 that Paul was brought in trial before Felix and we see how Felix reacted for Paul.

We saw also that Felix left Paul in prison at the end of his governorship.

And 1 of the big questions that 1 might be asking as we ponder what this has to do or how this goes into the whole idea or all thinking or all purpose of God.

It's good also to remember ourselves that Each event that's happened in the Bible, sometime, or most of the time, will reveal something about God.

And if we cannot find in the passage how God is shown or revealed to us, we might have to look a little bit bigger.

That mean, like also, like imagine that you are doing a puzzle and then you take this small piece and you look very close.

But then as you go a little bit further, you take your eyes a little bit further, it might help you to see all the pictures.

So, the big question is, what, in this passage, how can we see crass revealed to us?

And the big idea for me in this passage is that as we endure patiently in our trials, we can be assured that God is working in the back, behind the scene to accomplish his purpose for our lives.

So as we go together in this passage, this is how I'm going to break down the passage.

I don't have any PowerPoint today, so I would just ask you to be really patient with me and pay attention.

So I want to look into the context of the passage, what's going on, to be sure that we understand the passage per itself.

Then as we look into Paul's trial before Festus, I just want to also see that Paul is really in danger in this passage.

The danger in which he was when he arrived in Jerusalem still continues.

Also see that through this passage we found that Paul is innocent.

And also as we think about how God is present into this passage I want also to look to the fact that God indeed is in present in Paul's life at this particular moment of Paul's history.

And also that Paul's attitudes is determined by the way that he himself understand how God is present in his life.

Also, I would like to conclude with some conseil or some encouragement which each 1 of us regarding to what we may be going at this very time in our lives.

So let me repeat again, the big idea is that as we endure in our trials, when we do God's will in our life, we can be assured that God is working in the background to accomplish his purpose for our lives.

So Paul is in prison for 2 years, and then after Felix comes a new governor who is Festus.

The governor Festus was the 12th procurator of Judea, successor of Felix.

Nothing is really known of him before we assume that governorship in Judea around 1860, 1862 inherited all the troubles and tension that were mounting during Felix's maladministration of the region.

Maladministration accumulated with the revolt of the Jews and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70.

Very little is known for him, if not that he died 3 years, or 2 or 3 years after he was governor of Judea.

So, in this passage, Felix, newly appointed, goes down to Jerusalem, where he's supposed to meet the elders or the most prominent people of the Jewish, of the Jews.

And this is comprehensive because as a new governor, it goes to see those that is supposed now to be governing.

So when you arrive there, the Jews ask that As a favor, as a new governor, and you are coming and you want to be a good relationship with us, as a favor, we would like you to bring down Paul from Caesarea and allow him to be judged here in Jerusalem.

Festus refuses and instead asked them to go with him to Caesarea for Paul to be judged before a Roman court.

And throughout the judgment, Phelous recognized that Paul is innocent, but wishing, however, to please the Jew, he proposed to have Paul be judged in Jerusalem in his presence.

At this very time, Paul made an appeal to Caesar, which Governor Felix, after speaking with his council, decided he would grant.

Problem is, Felix doesn't have any reason to write to the emperor as he sends Paul.

So, he takes the opportunity when the king Agrippa comes to visit him to now propose the case of Paul before him, hoping that through this new examination and also with the input of Agrippa, he might have a good reason to write as he sends Paul to the Emperor.

King Agrippa here is Agrippa II, the son of King Agrippa I and the grand-grandson of Herod the Great.

Agrippas are very, very known for their cruelty in the Bible.

We remember that King Agrippa I was the 1 who killed James the brother of the Apostle John, and also arrested Peter with the goal of wanting to kill him.

So, he comes with his sister Berenice, a young sister of him of 1 year older than his.

And Also, they are the brothers and sister of Drusille, which we have heard of in Act 24.

Drusille was the wife of Felix, if you remember.

So, we are kind of in the family situation here.

So, they come to pay their respects to Felix, and at that time, as I said, Felix exposed to them the case of Paul.

So that begs the great question Where is God in this period of the life of Paul?

As I said, that's 1 of the things that I want to show is that Paul is still in danger.

Paul is in danger because his accuser presents serious charges before, again, the new governor with the goal of having condemned to death.

We read, 3 days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, where the chief priest and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charge against Paul.

And also in verse 7, when Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him.

The reason the Jews were bringing charges and many charges which we were not able to prove was not that simply Paul would be kept in prison.

Their goal was to have the Roman governor have Paul put to death.

And we saw part of the charges in chapter 24.

These are exactly the same charges that they are bringing before Festus.

And the charges can be summed up basically in 3 parts.

Paul is guilty of the violation of the law of Moses for blasphemy and encouraging the Jews not to follow the law of Moses.

Paul is guilty of desecration of the Temple of Jerusalem because Paul would have tried to bring a Gentile within the temple.

Paul is also guilty because he is a threat to the public peace and harmony of the Roman juridiction even to the person of Caesar, which is sedition.

So these are the 3 charges that they bring before Paul.

If the 2 first charges could be solved by the Jewish authorities, meaning the violation regarding the law of Moses and also the desecration of the temple, they didn't have really the authority to judge the question of the threat to the public peace and to the person of Caesar.

That's why they insisted so much in their argument to show that Paul was guilty according to the Roman law.

Paul is not only in danger because of the charges that he's brought before him, but also we see that Paul is in danger because they are still plotting to kill him.

Remember the very, very reason why Paul is in Caesarea is because when he was arrested in Jerusalem, some people plotted to kill him.

In fact, this is what we read in Acts 23, 12 and 15.

The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

More than 40 men were involved in this plot.

They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, we have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.

Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petitioned the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case.

We are ready to kill him before he gets here.

And I remember a couple of Sundays ago, Louis clearly and beautifully showed to us the context in which that was happening.

And even who were these kind of people that were making such a vow to kill Paul, a religious killing that would be acceptable even before the law.

So in verse 3 of our chapter, we read again, they requested Felix as first as a favor to them to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, thought they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.

2 years, more than 2 years has passed, and still the plot of killing Paul is continuing.

So we see that Paul is in serious danger.

So, if it's not, it wasn't by the Roman hands that they were going to kill Paul, it was surely with from their own hands that they were going to take the thing as a matter.

But the thing is that, as I said, Paul is innocent.

And this is 1 thing that we see throughout this passage in Act 25, Paul's innocence.

Paul's defend his case and proclaim his innocence toward the Jews and the Roman.

In verse 8 he says that, I have done nothing wrong against the Jews' law or against the temple or against Caesar, which are the 3 domain on which the accusation was made toward him.

Even Festus acknowledged that Paul is innocent.

As we say that Festus wishing to do the Jews a favor said to Paul, are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?

Paul answered, I'm now standing before the court, Caesar's court, where I ought to be tried.

I have not done anything wrong to the Jews, as you yourself knows very well.

The very fact that Thestis asked Paul if we would want to go to Jerusalem before the Sanhedrin to be judged is actually the very proof that Paul is innocent.

Because if Paul was innocent according to Roman law, Felix wouldn't have given him and asked him in this question, do you want to go to Jerusalem and be judged regarding this question?

And Paul voiced out the sentiment expressed by Phyllis by saying, I have done nothing wrong to the Jews as you yourself knows very well.

Festus would again confirm Paul's innocence before Queen Arbrypa when he presents Paul's condition and false situation to him.

He said, when his accusers got up to speak, this is verse 18 and 19, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected, instead they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed is alive.

So Faustus even acknowledged that Paul was being judged on the ground of some theological question, discussion, and not regarded to any moral failure that he would have done against the law, the Roman law.

And then also we see that Paul is innocent in the sense that Paul calls to Caesar.

And this is, as I was saying in the beginning, imagine that you come into a movie and then on the series, and then you wonder where this series fits in all the stories.

Here we have exactly this very particular action that's happened, Paul appealing to Caesar.

Thing is that Paul appealing to Caesar is very, very important because he plays a big part in all the plan that Paul, that God had in the life of Paul.

Roman law at that time had that when a Roman citizen was subject to any trials in which the decision was beyond the scope of the jurisdiction of the governor or that he was facing the possibility of being either killed or even violently coerced, he could make an appeal for his case to be decided by the emperor.

And Paul, as a citizen, as a Roman citizen, takes that opportunity, that right to appeal to the emperor.

And I ask again, where is God in this period of Paul's life as he's facing all this trial?

For us to understand where God is in Acts chapter 25, we need to understand and to look a little bit further and see exactly what's the goal of God's purpose in Paul's life.

You see, God had a plan and a promise for Paul.

And the promise of God for Paul and the purpose of God for Paul is that Paul will go to Rome and testify in Rome about the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Acts chapter 23 verse 11 that promise of God is shown to us as we say that the following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, take courage as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.

And then this same truth is repeated to us in Acts 27 verse 23.

Last night an angel of the God whom I belong to and whom I serve stood beside me and said, do not be afraid Paul, you must stand trial before Caesar.

And God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you so keep up your courage men for I have faith in God that it will happen to me just as he told me." And we see that promise of God toward Paul actually being accomplished as the book of Acts ends in chapter 28.

For 2 years, Acts 28 verse 13 and 31 tells us that for 2 years, Paul stayed in Rome in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and of Christ and about the Lord Jesus Christ without bounds and without even any hindrance.

God is also not only present in Acts chapter 25 by the promise that he has made to Paul but also God is present because God is protecting Paul in as a way to accomplish his purpose in his life.

God is protecting Paul and this protection we see it since the time that Paul arrived in Jerusalem.

God is protecting him by having him rescued by the commander Claudius Lysias when the crowd was about to lynch Paul in Act 21.

God was continuing to protect Paul even allowing that a full army will be with him to transfer him from Jerusalem to Caesarea.

And 1 of the questions that I asked myself as I was reading, could it be that the 2 years that Paul was kept in prison by Felix, although he was innocent, couldn't be that also a way that Paul in fact, that God in fact, was protecting Paul against the crowd that was still in mind to kill him.

As I said, God's purpose in Paul's life implied that Paul will go to Rome before the Caesar.

And for that, God was working in the background, using even sinful leaders to protect and to accomplish his will.

Now as we've seen that God is in the background working, what is Paul's attitude as he's facing all his trials?

Lest we diminish what Paul is living, let us remind ourselves that Paul is in a serious and dangerous situation.

And Paul is in that situation not because of his own will, but because of the purpose and the plan of God in his life.

It is a very, very difficult moment in the life of Paul.

As I think about it, I don't remember, I don't see, we won't see much, the Church of Jerusalem in that story.

We don't see much of his friends around him.

Yet Paul endures this moment with courage, looking at the purpose of God.

Paul endures his trial by defending and arguing his case in good conscience and courage.

In verse 8 again he said, I have done nothing wrong against the Jews, the Jewish law, or against the temple, or against Caesar.

And he said again in verse 11, if however I was guilty of anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die, but if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no 1 has the right to hand me over to them.

I appeal to Caesar." So Paul is suffering here not because of his own sin, or because of his own will, but because he's actually accomplishing and walking in the will of God.

And as I said, we see in that very moment of Paul that Paul defend his case.

He uses everything that is necessary to show that he's innocent.

Interestingly here, I want to make a comparison with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember that if we parallel Paul's situation and Christ's situation, they are exactly the same.

Being judged by the Sanhedrin, then to be condemned, being brought before the Roman authorities.

Now, what's interesting in Christ's case is that in all the accusation that was brought before to to to to condemn him he said silence.

He didn't even want to argue his case to show that he was innocent.

But here Paul, not like Christ, he's speaking.

1 might be wondering, why Paul don't you just shut up?

Why don't you just stay silent like Christ did?

To me the answer is that both their attitude in the trial is determined by their understanding of God's purpose and promise to them.

You see Christ was silent because he understood that God's purpose for him was going through that.

So he was willing to stay silent so that the purpose of God will be accomplished.

Paul is speaking and defending his case appealing to Caesar because he understands that the promise of God to him is that he should go to Rome and testify in Rome.

He even takes the opportunity through his trial to defend the gospel, to preach the gospel to the different authorities that comes and look and test his case.

Good understanding of God's promise to us can help us endure in the trial.

Now we come to the part of my message where I ask the question, what is that all has to do with us?

We saw that God, although it seems that God is not present in Act 25, God in fact is present, is working in the background to accomplish his purpose in the life of Paul.

We saw that Paul is in prison because of the will of God, because he's working in the will of God.

And this is 1 of the encouragement that I would like to give for those of us who like Paul at the very moment in their life are doing things that are according to the will of God yet find difficulties in their life.

You have done what you know is right before God's.

You have done what you know that God wants for your life, whether Any situation.

It might not be absolutely because you are preaching the gospel, but because you are being obedient in God's will in your life.

Maybe you've been attending somebody that is sick for a long time.

See all Rosemount Bible Church Sermons transcripts on Applepodcasts

Rosemount Bible Church